


Freedom Is Within You

by agirlnamedtruth



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Immortality, Immortals, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Pirates, Waiting for Arthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-23
Updated: 2014-03-23
Packaged: 2018-01-16 18:12:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1357114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agirlnamedtruth/pseuds/agirlnamedtruth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Centuries after Arthur's death, Percival stands with his feet in the sea, trying to convince Gwaine they could go further than Albion's shores for a while.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Freedom Is Within You

**Author's Note:**

> This is a kind of "what if everyone lived forever and became other characters as cover stories..." idea. It might become a 'verse, I don't know yet.
> 
> Written for this [picture prompt](http://netdna.webdesignerdepot.com/uploads/2008/12/stock-microstock.jpg) at [Camelot Land](http://camelot-land.livejournal.com/). Title from [Alive](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPKAwJKGSDc) by Empire of the Sun.

Percival stood in the sea, his trousers rolled up to his knees. The cold air was biting and the water was worse but he gave no hint of his discomfort to Gwaine. At least it wasn't raining, although the sky was decidedly grey.

"Well, what do you think?" Percival asked over his shoulder. "It could be fun."

"Ah, I don't think so, Perce, sorry," Gwaine said, turning away from the shore.

"We have to move on soon, people are starting to talk," Percival said, running a hand over the stubble on his unchanging face. In the moment Arthur had died, the rest of them had lived. Forever. "Or is this about Arthur?"

"We can't leave him," Gwaine said, pausing a little way up the beach. "What if this is the year, the day..."

Percival trudged out of the shallows and joined him on the beach. "If he does come back, Merlin will be the first to know. He's patrolling that lake night and day."

Gwaine shrugged and looked down at the sand.

"We're not doing any more good here than we would anywhere else," Percival pushed on. "Lancelot's in France, Gwen might join him soon, Leon's staying on at court and Morgana's thinking of heading to London. We can't keep being soldiers, not in this age. Wars are about trade now, it's either join the King's navy or..."

"Or become a pirate?" Gwaine said, giving Percival a look.

"See, don't think about it like that. You love drinking, you love wenches and you hate every noble that isn't Arthur. You'd just be playing to your strengths."

"There's a line between that and what you're suggesting," Gwaine protested.

"Alright so don't stay on the boat then, run a tavern on the beach. In the sun. You could be waiting for me with a tankard of ale when I get home. That'd be nice, yeah?" Percival bumped their shoulders together and Gwaine smiled. There was no changing him, not really. He'd always answer to a pint, chase women and follow the action. But Percival loved him despite that. He loved him because of that.

But Gwaine shook his head again. "Why do you even want it?"

Percival looked back at the horizon. “Because I’ve never had it.”

He could feel Gwaine’s eyes boring into his back and he could imagine Gwaine’s confused look, an innuendo forming itself on his tongue, so he elaborated quickly, “I’ve never been anywhere but here.”

“We’ve been all over,” Gwaine said and Percival shook his head.

“No, we’ve been all over Albion. I’ve never... I barely even know what else there is, except for stories. I never left my village until Cenred destroyed it and I stayed with Arthur until...” He hung his head in reverence. “But it’s been a long time and I want... more. I want freedom.”

Percival fell silent. It was the hardest confession he’d ever made. That he wanted more than England and Gwaine and their gradually disbanding group of brothers and friends. He wanted to move on, for a little while, while they still could.

The silence weighed on them both for a moment but Percival was certain it needed to. He’d struggled with what he wanted; he was asking a lot of Gwaine to set Arthur aside for even a short time. Gwaine felt it worse than most, the need to wait for Arthur. He’d died thinking he’d failed him, even though Percival told him every day for a hundred years that he hadn’t, he would have made Arthur proud.

Gwaine took his hand, even though in this day and age, simply holding hands with another man was running a great risk. In England, at least. Freedom had a lot to offer, if only they could let go of destiny for a while. Gwaine squeezed his hand and Percival was sure he’d pull away but he surprised him, staying fast.

“We could have daft pirate names, like in the stories,” Gwaine said, by way of saying _yes_.

Percival looked sideways at him, unable to stop himself from smiling, even if it was tempered with past sorrow. They’d had names from stories, once. They’d had the names of legends. Perhaps they could again, if they could come up with ones daft enough.

**Author's Note:**

> As of 01/01/18, I'm opting to disable comments. [More information here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13077201).


End file.
